Biochemistry Notes- These are for review purposes only. There were things discussed in class that are not here. Use your class notes to be sure that you have studied everything
I. Basic Chem
a) definitions- elements, compound, atom, molecule, mixture
b) aqueous mixtures
1) suspensions
2) solutions
3) colloids- egg white, Jell-o, cytoplasm (sol / gel phases)
II. Organic / inorganic
a) Inorganic- not derived from living things- not made of carbon atoms in chains
examples- water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, minerals
b) organic- 1)mostly come from living things- hence the name organic
2)made of carbon atoms joined in chain or rings with various other atoms attached.
C-4 bonds, N-3 bonds, O -2 bonds, H- 1 bond
3)some organic molecules are made by joining smaller organics together
polymer- large molecule made by joining smaller ones called monomers
4) process that joins monomers- dehydration synthesis
5) process that splits up polymers - hydrolysis (digestion)
III. 4 Classes of organic compound important to life
A) Carbohydrates- C, H , O H-0 2-1 ratio
1) Monosaccharides- simple sugars- CH2O - examples glucose,
fructose
These three all have the same formula but are put together differently
C6H12O6 They are called isomers of each other
Glucose is the most common of these- made by Ps , burned by organisms for energy
Fructose is found in most fruits- used in many candies and juices
Notice sugar names end in "ose"
2) Disaccharides- double sugars 2 monosaccharides bonded by
dehydration synthesis
Formula C12H22O11
Sucrose- table sugar
Lactose- milk sugar. People who are lactose intolerant can't break
apart the disaccharide
3) Polysaccharide- complex carbohydrates- 3 or more monosaccharides bonded
a) starch- used by plants to store glucose
b) glycogen- used by animals to store glucose
c) cellulose- used by plants to give strength to cell walls- wood
is 50% cellulose
fiber in our food is cellulose
B) Lipids-made of C,H,O but much more H than O
1) fats, oils, waxes, steroids
2) don't dissolve in water
3) uses- fats and oils mostly store energy- can store twice as
much per gram as carbohydrates
waxes- waterproof
steroids- needed for cell functioning (cholesterol)
lipids are used to build certain cell parts-ex. cell membrane
4) Fats and oils- triglycerides- glycerol and 3 fatty acids (joined by dehydration syn)
fats-(solid) animals oils (liquid)- mostly plants
5) saturated/unsaturated - the amount of hydrogen atoms in the
molecule
C) Amino acids / proteins
1) Made of C,H,O,N some have P, S et al
2) Proteins are made of many amino acids bonded
3) Amino acids- 20 different kinds
Central carbon COOH - acid group NH2 amino group, "R" group
4) Two amino acids joined- dipeptide- ex. nutra-sweet (dehydration synthesis)
5) Chain of amino acids- polypeptide
6) 2 or more polypeptide chains join to form a protein
7) Proteins have various functions-
proteins can be structural- they are what some cell parts are made of (also hair,
ligaments etc.)
contractile proteins- in muscles
storage proteins- albumen (white of the egg)
defensive proteins- Antibodies
transport proteins- hemoglobin (carries oxygen -in red blood cells)
signal proteins- hormones
Many proteins are enzymes - control chemical reactions in organisms
Lock and Key Theory- enzymes "fits" substrate
Enzyme Names- substrate/function-ase
D) Nucleic Acids-
DNA and RNA both carry hereditary information- will be discussed later